BELGIAN DAY IN HELENSVILLE

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 20 November 1914, Page 2

BELGIAN DAY IN HELENSVILLE

Saturday last was Belgian Da}' in Helensville, when a street collection for one shilling donations in aid of the Belgian Fund was taken up. The following young girls, in charge of Miss Chrissie Becroft, undertook the duty in collecting, viz., Misses Joyce Bailey, Phyllis Becroft, Doris Cuthbert, Edna Donovan, 1: ffi.e Eames, Flora Elliott, Dorothy Field, Lorna Field, Marion Megson, Iris McAnnalley, and Mavis White. Mr Becrof r, senior (on behalf of the Town Board) organised the party, and Mr H. W. Stringer (Town Clerk) acted as treasurer. With the Belgian flag flying, the young ladies paraded the streets t allowing no one to pass until thov had cnjuled something out of them. As the public donated, they were presented with a Belgian button until they were exhausted. Miss Becroft amused herself making badges to take the place of the buttons and had a pretty busy time o* it. It is very gratifyiug to report that the young ladies met with considersuocess, no jess a sum than £3Q 17s Id being collected by them. Considering the number of calls made on tti6 pubiic recent lj , it speaks well for the Helensville people that such a sum should have been collected. Messrs H. Hart and J. Vercoe, iz order to assist the Fund, journeyed through ie l Jua, Patakai and Parkhurst, and collected £15 as. A word of praise is due to them for giving up their day's work to assist in this lauddble object. Not to be outdone, Mr Becroft gave the takings from his Picture entertainment on Saturday n'ght which further swelled the li-t by £3 3s 6d. J On Wednesday Mr Stringer forwarded a draft for £51 19s 7d to Mr E. Burns, acting-yice-Cqnsul for Belgium, and has in hand a further sum of £3 6s, which he hopes to considerably augment before forwarding it on. A sum of £4 15s was sent by the children of the Helensville school, and amounts are also being collected by Captain Sellars, the Foresters and the Railway Department.